Stocks trading activity on mobile platforms in South Korea experienced a significant uptick in 2020 by testing a new all-time high. According to The Korea Herald, retail investors moved an average daily amount of stock transactions worth $23.03 billion over the last year, which represented an increase of 219.6% on a yearly basis.
The Bank of Korea reported that an average of 116.3 trades was carried out throughout mobile trading platforms in the country during the coronavirus outbreak year, which is another surge of 44.8% from the 80.31 million figure seen in 2019. Since 2013, such numbers have set a new all-time high, the central bank said, clarifying that it has started to gather data from that period.
About the explanation behind the hype on mobile-based stock trading, the media outlet highlighted the increasing preference among South Koreans towards smartphones over regular computers due to their portability. Additionally, such figures unveiled that the Covid pandemic did not hurt the trading activity across the country. Moreover, South Korea has seen a bolstering of contactless solutions in the midst of the pandemic.
In fact, The Korea Herald noted that the average daily number of internet banking-related transactions through mobiles soared by 13.2% on a yearly basis to hit 13.78 million. “The number of information technology-related workers in 150 domestic financial firms saw an increase of 3.9 percent on-year, contrary to the shrinking workforce at the companies. The result was followed by the local banks’ efforts to accelerate digital transformation,” the outlet noted.
Stocks Trading Hype Globally
Still, the surge of interest towards stock trading seems to be extended globally, as Payments giants such as PayPal are reportedly considering making entry into the stocks trading industry. Finance Magnates recently reported that the firm is thinking about launching a stock-Trading Platform for its U.S. users, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
One of the hints given by PayPal was the recent appointment by an executive experienced in the sector, Richard Hagen Jr., who served as President for Ally Invest.
